NORTH WASHAKIE COUNTY - It was a brisk evening as the fire trucks and ambulances began arriving to the scene just off a major highway in Washakie County.

Two minivans carrying a combined 14 passengers had collided. One passenger lay in the roadway, apparently having flown through a front windshield.

Of the 14 passengers, two died at the scene.

Choreographed chaos ensued.

EMTs and firefighters began assessing the situation. They worked to get the victims out of the vehicles and onto backboards.

Another fire truck arrived, this one carrying the Jaws of Life. Some of the victims would need to be cut out. Other crewmembers comforted victims - many bloodied - who were still trapped in the vans.

Crews set up triage on the pavement feet away from the totaled cars. Ambulances seemed to make up a carousel coming and going as they shuttled patients to the hospital and returned to take more.

At twilight, a medical helicopter from Cody touched down in a nearby field, guided by a Washakie County Sheriff's deputy.

Sixty-three minutes after the 911 call, the helicopter lifted off carrying the final and most seriously injured survivor.

Fortunately, this evening was a dress rehearsal should the worst happen in Washakie County.

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The exercise was months in the making, involving numerous local agencies including the Worland Fire Department, Cody Regional Health Ambulance, Ten Sleep Ambulance, Washakie Medical Center, the Washakie County Sheriff's Office and Guardian Flight, among others.

Worland Fire Chief Chris Kocher said the exercise, held at the intersection of Washakie 10 and US 20, was a success.

"In our community, we have a lot of a vacationers, a lot of travelers," Kocher said. "It's not uncommon at all to have minivans or 15-passenger vans.

"Washakie 10 and (US) 20 North certainly had its fair share of accidents over the years, so it's a good opportunity to look at a mass casualty incident."

Kocher said responders train year-round for a plethora of events. That said, an event with more than a dozen victims is unique. Crews train for it once every couple years.

That's what they got last week.

Washakie County Emergency Management Director said somewhere between 60 and 70 first-responders participated in the training.

"There are always thing you learn in these exercises. That's why you do it," Neighbors said. "We can learn while we're practicing and not in the real event."

Neighbors said the training went well. The issues run into were minor and included small communication hiccups and "radio channel type stuff."

The scale of the incident presented unique challenges to the crews working the mock scene.

"It becomes more complicated," Neighbors said.

Far more boots were on the ground. Then there was the helicopter.

It's an exercise in constant communication. EMTs were continuously triaging until their patients made it to the emergency room as firefighters worked feet away to free victims from the vehicles.

In addition to giving first responders a chance to practice triage on the scene of a major vehicle accident, it was an opportunity to assess how well all the agencies involved communicated and meshed should the worst happen.

Zach Spadt

'It went very well," Kocher said. "It was a great opportunity for interagency cooperation to help us all identify the small little things that we need to fine-tune.